"Do you think I want to be in here with you either?" Luca grunted, sitting back down. "I'd much rather be swimming in a pool of Mike's piss."
"Eww, you're disgusting... why Mike's?"
Luca shrugged.
"I don't know, I guess cause it's nasty as hell."
"Everybody's is nasty as hell." Edgar huffed. "I don't wanna talk about piss... please just change the subject..."
He crossed his arms and sat in front of Luca, pouting. Luca returned one and hung his head low, bored out of his mind.
"What are we even supposed to talk about? Norton just locked us in here for absolutely no reason, we clearly don't wanna talk to each other."
"I agree, he's quite stupid to think that we would even consider it." Edgar murmured, sitting cross legged.
Two hours passed and they still refused to speak to each other, only giving occasional glances. They heard a knock at the door and turned towards it.
"Are you guys talking it out?" Norton asked, leaning against the door.
"NO!" he heard them both yell and he groaned.
"It's been two hours, how have you two not talked to each other at all?"
"Because we don't want to!"
"You guys are acting like children..."
"WE ARE NOT!"
"You are and that's why I'm gonna keep you both in there for longer."
"NORTON, LET US OUT!"
"Nope. Not until you guys calm down and get along."
They heard his footsteps get quieter and quieter. They looked at each other and sighed, Edgar slapping his hands on his thighs. Luca leaned his elbow on his knee, his chin resting on his hand.
"I guess we have to..." Luca said, sighing heavily.
"I don't want to!"
"We can't stay in here all day."
"I would stay in here for the rest of my life if it means not talking to you."
"You're doing it now."
"What?"
"Talking to me. You're talking to me right now."
"For fuck sake Luca, I'm not in the mood for this bullshit."
"C'mon Eddie, let's just talk this all out..."
"Denied!"
"Edgar."
"No."
"Eddie."
"No."
"Ed."
"No."
"Edwin."
Edgar stared at him, gritting his teeth.
"What did you just call me...?
"Edwin. I called you Edwin."
"Do you have a death wish?"
"Perhaps. What's it to you?"
Luca snickered and Edgar lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. He straddled him and grabbed his collar, pulling him closer.
"I would gladly kill you right now."
"Do it then."
"You're lucky that I'm gonna spare you..."
"Or maybe you're just a pussy?"
Edgar's eyebrows furrowed and he slapped Luca across the face, receiving one back. They started hitting each other, Luca trying to push Edgar off of him.
"GET OFF!" he yelled.
"MAKE ME!"
Luca pushed him off and sat on his lap.
"How does it feel to be the one who's sat on hmm?"
"Terrible. Get up, you're too heavy!"
"No I'm not, you're just weak. Admit it Eddie!"
"NEVER!"
They continued to push and sit on the other, kicking their legs as they fought. They called each other names and blurted out insults.
It was extremely childish...
"You're the weak one! Go on, hit me since you're so-" Edgar was cut off.
He received a punch across the face from Luca and grit his teeth.
"You bastard!"
"You told me to hit you!" Luca shouted, clenching his fists.
"No I didn't!"
"Yes you did!"
"I did not!"
"You did too!"
"Stop lying!"
"You're the one who's denying it!"
"I didn't tell you to punch me you liar!"
The fighting continued and they were still slapping one another, throwing around insults and sticking their tongues out. They really were just like children. Soon, they heard footsteps coming closer and closer towards the room. There was a knock and Edgar sat back on top of Luca.
"NORTON GO AWAY! WE'RE FIGHTING!" he snarked.
"Well, stop fighting. You guys aren't kids."
"NO!"
"Stop it."
"NO!"
"Stop..."
"NEVER!"
Norton started to get irritated and he unlocked the door, looking down at them. There was a moment of silence before Edgar processed the situation he was in. He pushed himself off of Luca and waved his arms around.
"THAT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE! D-DON'T GET THE WRONG IDEA!"
"Is that so?" Norton chuckled, adjusting his gloves. "It looked a little bit like what I was thinking it was. Denying it?"
"OF COURSE I'M DENYING IT! I WAS PUNCHING HIM!"
"Were you now?"
"I'm gonna give this bastard a second black eye and neither of you can stop me!"
"Yeah? Well I'm gonna knock your teeth out!" Luca huffed, starting to stand up.
Edgar also got off of the floor and Norton grabbed both of them.
"Stop it. Both of you, stop it. Fighting isn't gonna solve anything."
"We're not trying to solve anything. We will always hate each other and you can't change that. It's set in stone at this point. There's no going back Norton!" Edgar scoffed, trying to pull his shirt from Norton's hands.
Norton kept a tight grip on the two of them, refusing to let go.
"You guys are going nowhere until you stop fighting and actually be friends."
"I don't wanna be friends with him." they both sneered.
Norton sighed and dragged them to the kitchen, sitting them down. He sat between them and put his fingers against his forehead.
"Now, why do you guys hate each other? Give me the actual reason, with no lies."
"He's been stealing all of my paints and brushes..."
Luca quickly stopped him.
"Stop bending the truth. You know that YOU'RE the one who's just losing them!"
"I saw you stealing them from my room!"
"No I didn't! You've been stealing from ME! You always steal my screwdrivers and wires!"
"I don't do that!"
Norton pinched both of their ears and they yelped.
"Both of you have been stealing from each other, that's what I've gathered from this. If you BOTH just apologize, then you can be friends and actually be nice to each other."
"Not until he apologizes first!" they both grunted.
"Eddie, you apologize first. A SINCERE one!"
Edgar stared blankly at Luca.
"I'm sorry." he said.
"You can do better than that. Say it again." Norton scolded.
"I'm sorry Luca..."
"For?" Norton added.
"For stealing and fighting with you... I'm sorry."
"Luca, now you say sorry."
He hung his head low and glanced up at Edgar, taking a deep breath.
"I'm sorry for stealing from you Eddie... and for fighting with you..."
Norton ruffled their hair and smiled.
"See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?"
They didn't answer him and he stood up awkwardly.
"I'll leave you two alone. Have a civil conversation please and stop fighting..."
He left and Luca sighed, scratching the back of his head.
"I won't steal from you again..."
Edgar glared at him with his arms crossed. He drooped his eyebrows and looked away.
"Same... I won't do that again either..."
Over the next few weeks, the survivors noticed them starting to slowly get along. They would go to each other's rooms to hang out and chat for hours on end, smiling and laughing. They started to sit next to each other during meals and would walk around the manor together, sitting in the garden at times. They would help each other with their paintings and inventions without any arguments... finally. Norton sauntered down the hallway, humming to himself and heard two sets of rapid footsteps from behind him. Before he could turn around, he was tackled to the floor by Naib and Eli. His hat fell onto the ground behind him and he laughed.
"You guys really come at the most unexpected times, don't you?"
"Mmhmm! Naib and I like to surprise you with hug attacks! That's what he calls them anyway." Eli giggled, standing back up and brushing down his robes.
"Of course he does." Norton smiled.
Naib tugged on Norton's sleeve and tilted his head up at him.
"Did you eventually get them to become friends?" he asked. "Cause they seem to be getting close. A little bit touchy too. Have you seen them hugging, they do that quite often now and also brushing each other's hair. I saw them in the back garden just a while ago actually and saw Eddie laying his head on Luca's lap."
"I saw that too. Naib and I saw them through the window when we were walking past. They're definitely getting much, much closer. How long has it been now? Three weeks? Four weeks?" Eli murmured, tapping his chin.
"I think it's been about four weeks, I'm pretty sure anyway." Norton answered.
"Well, it's nice to see them finally getting along, isn't it?" Eli chuckled.
Norton and Naib agreed and they all made their way to the kitchen, sitting at the dining table. Eventually, the others arrived and sat in their seats. Ada and Emil prepared the meal, Mike running around the table to place drinks and glasses on the table. The plates were set in front of everyone and they began eating.
"Hey 'sop."
Aesop looked around and saw William smiling at him.
"Could you pass the salt over please?" he asked.
Aesop leaned over the table and handed it to him, earning a pat on the shoulder.
"Thanks buddy!"
Edgar gave occasional glimpses over his shoulder at Luca, who was sat beside him. Whenever he saw Luca turn his head in his direction, he would stare down at his knees and wait until he looked away. Naib noticed and nudged Norton's arm, whispering in his ear.
"I think Eddie likes Luca."
"Hmm? Why'd you think that?"
"See there?" he pointed at Edgar who was gazing at Luca. "He gets so shy around him now. Whenever Luca even slightly tilts his head over his way, he gets all flustered and shit."
"Ooh, you're right!"
"I'm always right. Now keep your voice down when I say this ok?"
Norton nodded and Naib put his hand up to his ear, whispering again.
"I've also noticed that whenever they hang out, Eddie's always the one who initiates the hugs or any kind of physical touch. He definitely likes him."
"What about Luca though? Do you think he likes him too?"
"We won't know unless we ask. I'm gonna keep him back after dinner so I can ask him."
The meal ended and everyone left, Luca staying back. He stood up and stretched, cracking his back and arms. Naib and Norton came up from behind him and tapped his shoulder. He turned around and smiled.
"Hey guys! What's up?" he beamed.
"Norton and I were talking to some of the others about their partners but then I remembered... "Luca doesn't have one." soooo, I was gonna ask if you have a crush on anyone? C'mon, you can tell us! We won't say anything, promise!" Naib grinned.
"Well umm... I do, but I don't think they'd like me back so it's fine, don't worry about it."
"Don't be like that Luca, you can tell us!"
"Fine, fine." he sighed. "I kinda... I kinda like Eddie..."
He looked down and kicked his foot.
"It's just silly little crush. I mean, we used to fight for months and only recently we've started being friends."
"Luca, it's been a month since that happened. You can have crushes on people you used to hate." Norton commented.
Luca sighed heavily and brushed his hair out of his face, avoiding eye contact. He awkwardly shuffled around, not knowing how to reply.
"Umm... but I doubt it would even be worth telling him. We literally used to hit each other and call each other names."
"Those were childish fights, you guys never really "fought" each other. Slaps here and there yes, but nothing that would be considered toxic. They were just silly little arguments."
"I suppose you're right, but what if I tell him and he's grossed out and doesn't like me back? Then it'll ruin our friendship and possibly never talk to each other ever again..." Luca sniffled, wiping his eyes.
Norton and Naib pulled him into a loving embrace, hugging him tightly.
"Don't cry Luca, it won't ruin your friendship with him. Trust me when I say this... he'd most likely accept your feelings for him."
"How would you even know that?"
"He likes you." Naib said.
"No he doesn't, you don't know that."
"Yes we do."
"Tell me how then...?"
"It's obvious, we always see him ogling at you."
"Naib, I don't think ogling is the right word for that." Norton snickered.
"Huh? Why?"
"Ogling at someone means to look at them in a lustful way and I don't think Eddie's doing that... not right now anyway, maybe he will some day."
"Don't say that!" Luca stammered, his face turning red. "H-he would never think of me like that!"
"You say that now, but just wait."
"Naib stop teasing him." Norton sighed. "But yeah, we've seen him glancing over at you and whenever you turn to look towards him, he quickly looks away. HE BLUSHES TOO!"
"H-he... he what? No, you're probably misunderstanding something."
"Luca, you really are clueless." Naib laughed and put his hands on his hips. "Just tell him that you like him. It'll be worth it, c'mon dude! You won't regret it."
Luca quickly shook his head and his eyes nervously darted around the room. He didn't know how to respond, so he refused to move or say yes.
"Bro, Eddie fucking likes you too. Trust us, we know he does. Nobody looks at their friends with such longing for them, let alone blushes!" Norton grunted, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah and not to mention that he's the one who always starts the hugs and shit." Naib pouted.
"How did you know that? Were you watching us?"
"No time for questions. More time for confessing!" Norton hyped, throwing his arms into the air. "We'll gladly be of assistance, so don't worry about anything!"
Luca stared at him blanky and didn't respond. He was then dragged away by the two to Norton's room and they shoved him onto the bed, having him sit on the edge. Norton stood in front of him, already looking triumphant. He rummaged through his drawer and found a heart shaped box of chocolates. Naib raised his eyebrow and him and looked down at it.
"Didn't Eli and I give that to you...?"
Norton sweated and gave him a smile, laughing anxiously.
"Yeah... but it's fine! We're trying to help Luca get into a relationship, we can always get more!"
He tried to play it off and Naib sighed, shrugging.
"Alright... whatever. You're right, we need to help him, but we're gonna talk about this later..." he huffed, narrowing his eyes.
"So... what am I supposed to do?" Luca asked asked, fidgeting with his fingers.
Norton walked closer to him and clasped his hands together excitedly. He plopped the chocolates onto Luca's lap and thought to himself for a moment before speaking again.
"I asked Emma if we could pick some flowers and then Vera if she could tie them into a bouquet. So I have them here for you!" he pointed at his desk table.
"Norton, you're cheesy as fuck." Naib snorted. "I don't think Eddie would like that."
"You never know unless you try!" Norton exclaimed, still looking proud of himself. "It'll go great, I'm sure he'd love it. Trust me Naiby, I'm quite romantic if I do say so myself."
"You're the only one who thinks that..."
"SHUSH NAIBY!" Norton scowled. "Anyway, I'm 100% sure that he'll like this. He definitely seems like the type to adore those kinds of love confessions."
Luca shuffled on the bed nervously, starting to have second thoughts. What if this "advice?" doesn't work? He'll be embarrassed for the rest of his life...
"Guys... I don't think I should do it. I'm not mentally prepared."
Norton sat on Luca's lap and squeezed both of his cheeks.
"Say that again and I'll bitch slap you until your entire face is red. Then, I'll pull all of your hair out until you're screaming and crying for me to stop."
Luca and Naib looked at him with their eyes widened.
"Ok..."
"Good! Now, you need to know what you're gonna say. Do you have anything?"
Naib stepped forward and placed his hand on Luca's shoulder, patting him on the back.
"Just say whatever comes to mind, I'm sure he likes the awkward and clumsy Luca the most. He wouldn't mind if you mess up on your words, that's why he likes you. He likes the silly little inventor and his silly little face." he laughed. "Go get 'em!"
Luca stood up and took what Norton gave him, holding them in his hands as he slowly made his way to the door. He looked over his shoulder at them and they both gave him a thumbs up.
"Fucking idiots... having me make a fool of myself... fuck sake..." he muttered to himself, keeping his head down.
He looked around the manor in search of Edgar and saw him leave through the backdoor. He peeked out the windowed doors and groaned. He felt a tap on his shoulder and he jumped.
It was Vera and Emma.
"Norton got the flowers for you? What's the occasion?" Vera asked, playing around with her perfume bottle.
"I-I'm uhh... I have a crush on Eddie and Norton told me to tell him. So he gave them to me and these stupid chocolates. He's gonna hate them and think I'm weird right?"
"Not at all!" Emma exclaimed, taking the bouquet out of his hands.
"See these? They're his favorite flowers, he's told me that himself. Norton's smart for picking them, so I'm completely positive that he'll love them. You need to trust us more Luca."
He handed them back to him and Vera smirked.
"Go on, tell him. It's now or never.~" she encouraged
The two girls left and Luca stared at the flowers. He let out a low groan, a sigh following and he opened the door. He stepped outside and was relieved to see that the garden was empty, except for him and Edgar of course. He saw him sat under a tree, reading a book.
He quietly approached him and held the gifts behind his back. He coughed to get Edgar's attention and he looked up at him, closing the book.
"Hello Luca." he greeted happily. He smiled softly at him and Luca started to get embarrassed, immediately regretting taking Norton's advice. "Is there something you need? Or are you just here to hang out with me?" he giggled. "I wouldn't mind if you were, sit down if you'd like. It'll be nice to have some company."
Luca carefully sat down beside him, keeping the gifts hidden behind his back. Edgar opened his book again and showed it to Luca.
"I'm really invested on this part right now. The two characters are just about to confess their love to each other! But, it also turns out that they both felt the same way! They were too shy to admit their feelings, that's so cute isn't it?"
"Yeah... very cute." Luca agreed.
"While I was reading this I was thinking, "I wish I had something like this happen in my life." but then I remember that barely anyone likes me." he joked. "Do you relate to that at all?"
"Sometimes..."
"Really? In what way?"
Shit... he needs to make something up. He can't confess, not now. Oh god, what does he do? Does he suck it up and just tell him? No, that'll ruin everything... but Eddie said he wants something like that to happen, so maybe Norton really was right. No, that's ridiculous... why would he even think that?
Stop thinking like this, just tell him!
"Umm... I also want what happened in the book. It seems like a nice thing to have..."
"I agree, this is the cutest book I've ever read. Maybe I'll make my own one day and hope it goes just like this one, but from my own personal experience."
"I'm sure that one day, you'll get to."
"I hope you do too Luca, you deserve the best. It's strange to hear me say that isn't it?"
"It's not strange... you also deserve the best and I hope there's someone who'll give it to you." he tried to drop hints but they clearly weren't working.
"Luca?"
"Hmm...?
"You seem on edge, are you ok?" Edgar worried, putting his hand on Luca's forehead. "Do you have a cold? A fever? You're all red!"
"No, I-I'm ok..."
"You sure? Cause you're forehead is really hot."
"It's not a fever, I promise... I'm just." he sighed. "Nervous."
"Nervous? Why are you nervous?" Edgar fretted. "Are you trying to say something that's embarrassing for you or...?"
Luca nodded and Edgar drooped his eyebrows, looking slightly concerned. Luca murmured to himself for a moment and looked down at him, biting his lip. He quickly shoved the flowers and chocolates into his arms, keeping his head down. Edgar was extremely confused and stared at the gifts, his cheeks tinted pink.
"For me?"
Luca nodded frantically, still hanging his head low.
"Luca, look at me."
Oh shit... is he gonna insult him? End their friendship? He panicked until he eventually made eye contact with Edgar.
"W-why did you give these to me?"
Luca stammered. He really didn't want to confess but he knew that if he didn't, he would probably never get another chance to.
"Because..." he covered his face with his hands, groaning loudly. "Because I like you... I like you Eddie!"
Edgar's face went red, his cheeks burning.
"You do?"
"Yeah... I know that we used to fight but ever since we've started to get along, I realised that I liked you more than a friend." he confessed. "When we were "enemies" as the others said, I think I still liked you then too. It sounds so stupid, I'm sorry."
"Luca..."
"It's ok if you want to reject me, I'll just... I'll just leave to save myself the embarrassment."
Edgar grabbed his sleeve before he could stand up and held him still.
"To be honest... that's the same with me. I also liked you even when we were fighting." he sighed, shaking his head. "Oh god, this is embarrassing."
They looked at each other for a minute before they both burst into laughter.
"So we felt the same way during all of that?" Luca snickered.
"I guess so. I mean, I wasn't gonna tell you cause it'd be weird to confess to someone who you're arguing with... especially for months on end."
"I was thinking the same thing." Luca chuckled, finally calming down.
He trailed his hand down to Edgar's and brushed his thumb along the back of it, glancing up at him to see his reaction. He saw him blushing and gently held his hand. They sat in silence for a while, Luca rubbing the back of Edgar's hand as they began talking again.
"Hey Eddie? Could I be a little bit sappy real quick?"
"Sure, I suppose."
"Ok, don't laugh at me though!" he distressed. "But umm... I've always thought about us being together, it kinda brought me a little bit of comfort even during the "enemy" phase we went through. I thought about wanting to be able to hold you close to me and just to love you forever... never to let go. Thinking about me wanting to take you on a date, any kind was good enough for me."
He stopped for a few seconds before continuing his rant.
"I even had dreams about you, where we were saying how much we loved each other and just being together as... as lovers... I've thought about kissing you so many times. Whenever you were mad and yelling at me, it made me want you even more and I don't know why... I just loved whenever you could express your feelings around me. Even though it was just fake rage..."
Another pause, burying his face in his hands.
"But it felt as if it was real whenever I dreamed about us kissing, it made me feel so happy as if someone actually loved and cared about me... It sounds so weird doesn't it?"
Edgar cupped one of Luca's cheeks and stared into his eyes.
"It's not weird... because I thought about the exact same thing." he responded. "I like you too Luca. I really like you. Much more than you think I do and I promise you that."
"Really? You do?"
"Of course. Everything you said is exactly what I've been thinking too." Edgar admitted.
"Eddie?"
"Yes?"
"How long have you felt like this for?" Luca asked.
"About... six months, maybe even seven? I don't know, I've just always liked you."
"Same with me. I've liked you too... for so long. I finally said it huh? I got this all over with." Luca chuckled, letting out a sigh of relief.
"I was actually gonna confess to you too, funny enough. I talked to Demi and Margie about it, since they're quite the romancers."
"They are, aren't they?" Luca looked at him and grit his teeth. "Hey Eddie?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I... can I kiss you?" he mumbled.
"You don't have to ask me. Do it if you'd like, I don't mind since it's you."
Luca was nervous, he's never done this with anyone before. Was Edgar gonna be disappointed with his inexperience? Whatever... just do it already. He cupped Edgar's cheeks and they both closed their eyes. He landed a brief kiss on his lips, pulling back straight after. He held his hand over his mouth, blushing to a great extent. His ears were burning, he really just did that.
"I-I'm sorry... I've never kissed anyone before, did I do it properly?"
"Neither have I, you don't have to be so shy about it. Think of it as us practicing." Edgar giggled. "It'll be easier then."
They leaned close again and Edgar gave him a docile kiss, also holding his cheeks. He opened his eyes slightly, seeing Luca's twitch. He slowly deepened the kiss, both giving and receiving a tiny whimper. They pulled back and covered their mouths, their cheeks completely flushed.
"We really just did that..." Edgar muttered to himself.
"I never thought that would actually happen..." Luca responded, touching his lips. "God, this feels so unreal."
"Same for me." Edgar chuckled, linking with Luca's arm and resting his head on his shoulder.
Norton was inside, staring at them secretly through the door. Naib came up from behind him and rolled his eyes.
"Are you stalking them?"
"What? Of course not!" Norton huffed, dramatically crossing his arms. "But see, my advice worked!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You were right and I was wrong..." Naib scowled. "Congrats to them then I guess."
The two of them walked away. Edgar and Luca were still sat under the tree, looking at each other so lovingly. It was as if nothing else existed, they were so lost in each other's eyes.
They finally fixed it all. All those months of rivalry were gone and forgotten about. They were now set in their newfound relationship and couldn't be happier.